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March 08, 2005
Connors Ch. 5 discussion questions
- Speaking of instruction in expository writing, Connors observes that it could be "neatly packaged and easily taught" (238). To what extent have you observed such forces still at work in composition programs and classrooms? (NB: While I do expect us to consider this question concretely, this is specifically not an invitation to bash your present program. Exercise tact and restraint, SVP; I'm tapped out on critiques of peers, professors, and program for the nonce.)
- As a handbook author, I'm alert to Connors' description of how "levels" of writing instruction were established (240-250), and I think I recognize the major categories of handbook chapters in his catalogue of developmental instruction. What would happen if we simply dumped all these activities from the composition classroom? What would we be left with, and how useful and successful would it be?
- Connors declares that "the only teachers still making real classroom use of the modes are those out of touch with current theory" (253). Think about the classrooms, pedagogies, and textbooks with which you are familiar: what evidence or counterevidence do they offer to his claim?
Posted by senioritis at March 8, 2005 11:32 PM